Anonymous wrote:I remember doing a calculator early in 2018 and it told me that I'd have to pay $1K. That's not a huge figure, so I left things alone. Just found out I'm getting the same refund as last year, about $4K. So the calculators aren't accurate.

It's not unreasonable for citizens to expect the IRS to withhold their taxes correctly. Especially when screwing with the tables was an UNABASHEDLY political move.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet...wait for it....if you had more money in your paycheck than you did last year, you could 'check' to make sure your withholding was correct.

That's what I did, sounds like many others here as well.

But there was no way to check. I couldn't find a good way to estimate the net effect of all of the tax changes (SALT, changes to AMT levels, marginal tax rates, child care credits, loss of exemptions, etc.) And my calculations turned out to be very wrong because there were things I didn't know about, like if you don't hit the AMT one year then you get a credit back if you hit it the previous year.

Our HHI was $300K in 2018 and our taxes went down -- about $50K. We had to pay about $500, which is pretty close. But I have claimed zero exemptions on my W-4 and overwithold by $100 a paycheck, or $2,600, and didn't stop doing that after the tax cuts went into effect. If I didn't overwithhold, I would have owed $3,000. I am going to continue overwitholding.

Our HHI in 2018 was $285K and our taxes were $55K. So our effective tax rate went from 19% to 16%. However, we got a credit in 2018 of $5,991 for paying AMT in 2017. That credit more than offset all of the other changes -- meaning that our taxes would have gone up by a thousand dollars if not for that credit.

Also, since we didn't pay AMT in 2018, I assume we won't get that credit in 2019. That means our taxes will be higher in 2019. Maybe I should be overwithholding even more. Grr.

your ignorance about tax matters really comes through in this rambling post.

All you had to do last year was plug in your numbers to the calculator IRS has put out: https://apps.irs.gov/app/withholdingcalculator/

It will tell you exactly how much to withhold. Instead of taking wild guesses on your withholding for the next tax year fill this out as accurately as you can now and use that information to fill out your w-4. Then make sure you double check in late fall to see if you are on track.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet...wait for it....if you had more money in your paycheck than you did last year, you could 'check' to make sure your withholding was correct.

That's what I did, sounds like many others here as well.

But there was no way to check. I couldn't find a good way to estimate the net effect of all of the tax changes (SALT, changes to AMT levels, marginal tax rates, child care credits, loss of exemptions, etc.) And my calculations turned out to be very wrong because there were things I didn't know about, like if you don't hit the AMT one year then you get a credit back if you hit it the previous year.

Our HHI was $300K in 2018 and our taxes went down -- about $50K. We had to pay about $500, which is pretty close. But I have claimed zero exemptions on my W-4 and overwithold by $100 a paycheck, or $2,600, and didn't stop doing that after the tax cuts went into effect. If I didn't overwithhold, I would have owed $3,000. I am going to continue overwitholding.

Our HHI in 2018 was $285K and our taxes were $55K. So our effective tax rate went from 19% to 16%. However, we got a credit in 2018 of $5,991 for paying AMT in 2017. That credit more than offset all of the other changes -- meaning that our taxes would have gone up by a thousand dollars if not for that credit.

Also, since we didn't pay AMT in 2018, I assume we won't get that credit in 2019. That means our taxes will be higher in 2019. Maybe I should be overwithholding even more. Grr.

your ignorance about tax matters really comes through in this rambling post.

All you had to do last year was plug in your numbers to the calculator IRS has put out: https://apps.irs.gov/app/withholdingcalculator/

It will tell you exactly how much to withhold. Instead of taking wild guesses on your withholding for the next tax year fill this out as accurately as you can now and use that information to fill out your w-4. Then make sure you double check in late fall to see if you are on track.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet...wait for it....if you had more money in your paycheck than you did last year, you could 'check' to make sure your withholding was correct.

That's what I did, sounds like many others here as well.

But there was no way to check. I couldn't find a good way to estimate the net effect of all of the tax changes (SALT, changes to AMT levels, marginal tax rates, child care credits, loss of exemptions, etc.) And my calculations turned out to be very wrong because there were things I didn't know about, like if you don't hit the AMT one year then you get a credit back if you hit it the previous year.

Our HHI was $300K in 2018 and our taxes went down -- about $50K. We had to pay about $500, which is pretty close. But I have claimed zero exemptions on my W-4 and overwithold by $100 a paycheck, or $2,600, and didn't stop doing that after the tax cuts went into effect. If I didn't overwithhold, I would have owed $3,000. I am going to continue overwitholding.

Our HHI in 2018 was $285K and our taxes were $55K. So our effective tax rate went from 19% to 16%. However, we got a credit in 2018 of $5,991 for paying AMT in 2017. That credit more than offset all of the other changes -- meaning that our taxes would have gone up by a thousand dollars if not for that credit.

Also, since we didn't pay AMT in 2018, I assume we won't get that credit in 2019. That means our taxes will be higher in 2019. Maybe I should be overwithholding even more. Grr.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And yet...wait for it....if you had more money in your paycheck than you did last year, you could 'check' to make sure your withholding was correct.

That's what I did, sounds like many others here as well.

But there was no way to check. I couldn't find a good way to estimate the net effect of all of the tax changes (SALT, changes to AMT levels, marginal tax rates, child care credits, loss of exemptions, etc.) And my calculations turned out to be very wrong because there were things I didn't know about, like if you don't hit the AMT one year then you get a credit back if you hit it the previous year.

Our HHI was $300K in 2018 and our taxes went down -- about $50K. We had to pay about $500, which is pretty close. But I have claimed zero exemptions on my W-4 and overwithold by $100 a paycheck, or $2,600, and didn't stop doing that after the tax cuts went into effect. If I didn't overwithhold, I would have owed $3,000. I am going to continue overwitholding.

Our HHI in 2018 was $285K and our taxes were $55K. So our effective tax rate went from 19% to 16%. However, we got a credit in 2018 of $5,991 for paying AMT in 2017. That credit more than offset all of the other changes -- meaning that our taxes would have gone up by a thousand dollars if not for that credit.

Also, since we didn't pay AMT in 2018, I assume we won't get that credit in 2019. That means our taxes will be higher in 2019. Maybe I should be overwithholding even more. Grr.

Anonymous wrote:And yet...wait for it....if you had more money in your paycheck than you did last year, you could 'check' to make sure your withholding was correct.

That's what I did, sounds like many others here as well.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Reading this thread and peoples lack of understanding of their own financial situation much less how taxes work at a public policy level makes depressed about the future of our country. the DCUM crowd are highly educated well off elites...if they don't get it then how can you expect the average joe to be savvy about the long term financial future of our country. We deserve the leaders we get.

Withholding tables reduced withholding by more than taxes were reduced. That is a problem. If someone’s tax dropped 200 dollars, withholding shouldn’t go down 450 dollars.

Anonymous wrote:Reading this thread and peoples lack of understanding of their own financial situation much less how taxes work at a public policy level makes depressed about the future of our country. the DCUM crowd are highly educated well off elites...if they don't get it then how can you expect the average joe to be savvy about the long term financial future of our country. We deserve the leaders we get.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why do people think it's acceptable to have to do their yearly taxes two or three times a year because the government is intentionally screwing with things? That's not ok.

Because we are dumbing down the country. At this point there are millions of Americans who have no idea how to figure out their taxes or figure out their withholding without hand-holding. Heck, even among the well-off here on DCUM, there are many who don't even understand their own withholding and what they mean. In the 4+ tax threads over the last week, there are many who don't know how to adjust their withholding below single filers.

Plus with a shrinking IRS, it is ridiculous that we have to pay so many people to come up with withholding estimators for employers so that it covers the several thousand situations of families. And inevitably, many are wrong and then because these filers have no idea what their withholding means, they blame the IRS for getting it wrong. Do it yourself, understand what you are withholding and get it right for your particular situation instead of using the same formula that covers your boss, the custodian and your child's teacher and expect that it will give you a more accurate picture of your own finances.

Use the calculator, make your own estimate of your income and adjust your withholdings. It takes like 30 minutes once or twice a year and you'll save yourself money from penalties or having to do estimated taxes every quarter.